Certainly Smitten
by Resacon1990
Summary: "You know," he started, his eyes filling up with tears as the other boy looked at him in shock, "I would've preferred him to be free, if only so that I could have seen you over these past few weeks. Seeing you would have been much better. I am thankful, so thankful, but I wanted you Seto." SEQUEL TO UNCERTAINLY SMITTEN!


**Yay! Finally a sequel to Uncertainly Smitten and this one removes the uncertainty!**

**Totally lame.**

**But yeah! If you're here from my first one, welcome! Read on! I LOVE YOU! If not I heavily _heavily _advise you to go read Uncertainly Smitten before reading this! Don't want you all confused :D**

**End code for it is: /s/8157491/1/**

**Enjoy! Both! Everything! ALL OF THEM :D**

* * *

"Are you sure Joey? You don't have to go to school if you really don't want to."

Joey sighed as he finished his mouthful of toast, trying to avoid making eye contact with his concerned father over the table. This was about the fifth or sixth time he'd asked the same question in the past twenty minutes, and for once Joey was past being able to handle his fathers anxiety and was now starting just get all out mad. Not too mad though, he was still touched by his father showing him this amount of affection.

"I'll be fine Dad, I promise." He gave his father a reassuring smile, and hoped that this would be the last time he would ask. Seeing the look on Jacob's face though made him sigh, knowing his father just wasn't going to relent easily.

"I know you will, it's just I worry. I mean, your scars are still there from that bastard attacking you," Jacob gestured at Joey's neck, watching as his son reached up to touch them, his face one of pain, not physical but emotional and it tore the fathers heart. "I just don't want you to be picked on for it. And we all know teenagers these days, are you su-"

"Ask that one more time Old Man and I will have to smack you," Joey chuckled, giving his father one of those happy smiles that were always present on his face. "I've said I'll be fine. And anyway, I'll be with the others! And Tristan will have a few things to say, or do, to everyone that tries to hurt me." The younger blond got up and walked over behind his fathers chair, draping himself over the back to give Jacob a tight hug from behind, perching his chin on his fathers shoulder. "And Yugi will pull the puppy eyes, and Tea will rip them a new one, not to mention Ryou, Yugi and Malik might set their boyfriends on them."

"Such a lovely group of friends you have," Jacob chuckled, patting his son's head and laughing even more when the younger blond patted them away in protest, "But what about Seto?"

Joey froze, his hands halfway in the air as he stared at his father, who looked back with one eyebrow raised. It was no secret between the two that Joey held a small flame for the mentioned CEO of KaibaCorp, but it was the first time since the incident that anything about the other teen was actually brought up. It had disappointed Joey when Seto hadn't turned up for a visit like he said he would, but he had made up excuses after excuses, until he'd finally come to the realisation that Seto must not really care about him at all. He sighed and bowed his head, pulling back from his father to lean against the kitchen wall.

"I don't know Dad. Haven't talked to him since Hirutani attacked me. I guess he just didn't care, so why should he care now?"

Jacob frowned at his son's forlorn look and got up, walking over and placing a hand on Joey's shoulder, "I'm sure he does. He might just be busy."

"For three weeks straight?"

"Who knows? He does run a huge company Joey. He also takes care of his own schooling, raises and looks after his younger brother, he's practically a father to the kid while he still has to maintain the big brother roll. He has to deal with multiple people every day, plan his and his brothers future. He has to do a lot Joey, too much for a eighteen year-old to deal with all by himself in such a short time." He forced his son to look up into his eyes, seeing the lost and scared look in the the golden orbs so much like his mothers. "Cut him some slack aye? At least he called a few times to make sure you were okay."

Joey had to admit that was true. He couldn't go denying that Seto didn't at least think about him when he had called, asked to speak with Joey and remained on the phone until Joey had enough. The first time Joey was just expecting a two minute hello goodbye thing, but when their conversation hadn't ended until three hours later and he'd fallen asleep did he realise that Seto was playing by his rules.

It was odd.

"Right, enough dilly-dallying around," Jacob chuckled, patting his son on the head again and earning an undignified "hey!" in response. "You're the one who's determined to go to school today, so I'd suggest you hurry up, it is eight thirty."

One quick glance up at the clock made Joey squeal as he tore out of the room, sprinting to his own to grab his stuff as his fathers laughs followed him. He was normally late, so much so that his homeroom teacher would always chorus "The thing about you being late Joey, is that you're consistent!" which left him able to get away with no detentions. Getting to the other classes though…

"Do you want a ride?"

"I told Yugi I'd meet him and the others outside the game shop! We're going to walk!"

"Then you should have left fifteen minutes ago! I'll drive you there."

Joey had no urge to yell back down the hall at his father so instead he just grabbed his bag, two books that would be shoved in his locker as soon as he got to school, and his jacket. Not for the first time was he glad that they were one of the only schools not to have ties, he thought as he barreled down towards the front door while tugging on the last bits of his uniform. His father rolled his eyes when he saw his son trip and go sprawling, but chose to ignore him as he adjusted his suit and tie, picked up the briefcase and keys and tugged a scarf off the coat rack hanging by the door.

"Here," he said as he threw the scarf at Joey, watching his son catch it with lightning quick reflexes before giving his father a raised eyebrow. "It is winter you know. Plus it'll hide your neck just in case."

Joey knew that most people would assume that someone would do that because they were ashamed, but he knew his father just wanted to protect him and was not at all ashamed of his son's scars. Horrified of them, because he was constantly reminded that he wasn't there to help his son like Seto did, but was definitely not ashamed.

The blond wrapped it once around his neck and allowed the ends to drop on either side before he raised his head to grin at his father, doing a little twirl. Jacob just laughed and rolled his eyes, yanking open the front door of the apartment, holding it open for his still rushing son to tumble out of before closing and locking it.

"Just one last time, are you sure Joey?"

The younger blond glared at his father, sticking his hand up in a rude gesture before storming down the hallway, much to the amusement of the chuckling older man.

…

"JOEY!"

As soon as he'd bid his father goodbye, assured him once again he'd be fine, emphasized he'd be fine getting home, given him a hug, received a pat on the head and then gotten out of the car, Joey had been promptly molested by a bunch of very enthusiastic teenagers.

"Guys! Get off!" he cried as he fell back, shooting a glare in his laughing fathers direction as he drove off, leaving his son to fend for himself. A loud cry was heard and he glanced up in time to see Tristan removing a chattering Yugi and Ryou off of him, followed by Tea and Malik. Duke was the only one who hadn't moved, and was just standing there watching with a smirk on his face.

"We saw him yesterday guys," the black haired bimbo sighed, rolling his eyes as Yugi and Ryou's chibi faces turn to look at him with big puppy eyes.

"But that was a whole twenty-four hours ago Duke!"

"And anyway! He's coming back to school! Not sitting at home! This is cause for celebration!"

Joey watched with a raised eyebrow as Yugi and Ryou began dancing together happily. His friends were slightly odd sometimes.

"Wanna hand up?" Tristan asked and Joey gratefully took the offer, groaning as his now sore back, thanks to its unpleasant meeting with the ground, cried out in protest. Tristan gave him a sheepish smile and Tea gently patted his back, trying to be helpful.

He battered them off, shooting them big smiles though, before crouching down to pick up his abandoned bags and books. He really hadn't missed the rather violent greetings he normally got from his friends, but he couldn't deny that it felt good to know that someone was there to give him a hug besides his father. _He _had too.

"Not that I hate to interrupt," Duke butted in, pushing apart the now three, since Malik joined in, hikaris and grinned at Joey, "but we're going to be late if we don't get moving. Sleep in did you Wheeler?"

"Sorry, your mum was a bit energetic last night," Joey shot back, watching as Duke burst out laughing and walked over to clap him on the back before the two began to wander together down the street, the others falling in behind them. They only paused long enough to look up at the top of the game shop where the three yami's were all hollering goodbyes out of Yami and Yugi's bedroom window. Well, Yugi's bedroom really. It only really turned from 'his' to 'theirs' when Yami spent more time in there than in his own, making his the spare room and occasional room for him to sleep in when they had a fight, which was about as rare as… well Pegasus not being a weird, gay, prima donna.

Because that white haired, giggling mass of disturbing was just that.

It only took a few minutes, because time flies when you're having fun, for the front gates of the school popped up and Joey was grinning. He had kinda missed the place.

"Schools been really boring without you Joey," Yugi sighed as he walked by his friend, everyone listening in, "so quiet. Even the teachers miss you I think."

"Miss Tollison? Missing me?" Joey couldn't help but laugh as he thought of his exasperated homeroom teacher. "That's something new."

"It's been really quiet," Tristan added, walking up to slide between Duke and Joey, giving the black haired teen a cheeky smile before reaching out to take his hand. Joey rolled his eyes at the display of affection between the couple, thanking whatever gods where out there that the yami's were too 'old' to come to school, leaving them only to have to deal with this couple while there.

"Yeah! Even with Seto joining our group! It wasn't that much of an uproar than it would've been if you were there!" Ryou chirped, staying back with Malik and Tea but almost bumping into Joey when the blond froze.

"Seto? Joining?"

"Yeah," Yugi gave Joey a particularly devious smile. "We invited him after seeing you after the accident, and he accepted for once. It's been so much fun." Yugi's grin was suddenly bigger as was everyone else's. "I'm sure you're going to love hanging with him."

Joey felt his whole face turn beet red at the knowing stares he was receiving. He knew they were all referring to… the kiss. Originally he'd decided to keep it a secret, what type of person wants to running around screaming "SETO KAIBA WAS MY FIRST KISS! BLAH!" but after a while he just couldn't hold it in and blabbed the whole story to Yugi. Who told Yami. Who told the other darks. Who told their lights. Who brought in up at one particular get together and enlightened dear old Duke and Tristan who then couldn't keep their big gobs open around Tea. Which then promptly lead to a lot of teasing and cheeky remarks for the next three bloody weeks he was stuck at home recovering.

Assholes.

He flicked them all a rude hand gesture, not caring about the shocked looks on Ryou and Yugi's face before he took off towards the gates, his scarf billowing behind him as he kept his face down to avoid the bitter cold, and hide his still red face as he heard Tristan and Duke laughing.

…

He'd missed his locker so much, so very very much. He'd missed opening it and being covered in its contents, and he'd missed swearing under his breath as he shoved it all back in, he'd missed Malik laughing as he helped him, he'd missed slamming the tin can's door shut with enough force to almost destroy it.

Yeah, he'd missed it.

Malik was chatting away beside him as they made their way to their fourth class, knowing they'd meet up with the others there. Truth be told he was honestly enjoying his first day back at school. His homeroom teacher had bellowed at him for making her worry before swooping him up into a hug when he'd walked in, refusing to let go until he'd assured her that he was fine and yes it was okay for him to be back at school. The rest of his friends had just sat and laughed as Miss Tollison chirped away about how great it was for him to be back before ushering him back out the door to go see his first period teacher early, because apparently she'd missed him too. Of course he'd doubted that, but as soon as he'd stepped into his english room he'd been pulled into another giant hug and the rest of the class silently thanked him as the teacher stood with him for the next thirty minutes being reassured just like Miss Tollison. After his science teacher doing the same thing the next period, he had been glad for the morning tea break and had run out of there faster than normal. Only to be forced by his history teacher to sit and earn a lecture on why he should not have been away, and to also to catch up on notes.

Followed by a bone crushing hug.

He'd actually surprised himself when he realised he'd actually enjoyed it though, and he was thankful that every teacher had so far not commented on his scarf, despite it being against school regulations to wear non-uniformed clothes. He was glad that he'd never once had to take it off and show his neck, knowing just what lay under there.

There had been only one thing so far that had absolutely driven him bat shit insane though.

Seto Kaiba.

He had five out of six classes with the guy, and today was that one day in a six day cycle that he had every single class with him. So far he'd not turned up to homeroom, come in late during english and given him a brief look before plopping down at the back of the class and fishing out his work, stayed behind to talk to the teacher and turned up right when their science class had begun, leaving Joey only able to watch as Seto sat beside Ryou and began to take notes in silence. Morning tea he'd been nowhere to be seen, and Yugi had mentioned something about doing some assignment in the library, that Joey couldn't get to thanks to his history teacher, who was also too strict and rarely allowed talking to happen in his class.

And now they were walking to maths and the bastard had disappeared again! Normally he'd be walking with Ryou, the two absorbed in a conversation about history or science, like the nerds they were, but he was nowhere to be seen. And frankly it was grinding on Joey's nerves. He wanted to talk to the brunet, actually see him face to face. Sure, he'd decided that maybe his father was right and that Seto was just busy, but now it seemed as if the guy was literally avoiding him.

Not cool.

The blond groaned as he saw his maths teacher come barreling towards him as soon as Malik opened the door, earning a snicker from the egyptian as he made his escape, leaving Joey to be clapped hard on the back and pulled to the front of the class to begin another chat with the much more hardy maths teacher. Thankfully he wasn't forced to prattle on about nothing for ten minutes, and wasn't 'treated' to a hug, and soon he was plopping down in his seat with his eyes trained on the door, waiting for that brunet bastard to walk through.

He should've know he'd time it right when the last bell rang and the teacher began his lesson.

A dark glare was on his face as he watched the young CEO walk past, and he knew that Seto could see it. He was literally seething now, ready to explode. He was going to hunt down that ass at lunch, and if his art teacher so much as made an attempt to stop him he was going to create some sort of mass destruction.

"Excuse me? Mister?"

Joey flinched as he heard that familiar, annoying voice of none other than Zigfried von Schroeder, the old duelist adversary of theirs that had moved earlier that year into their school. He still held some contempt for Joey, Yugi, Seto and the others, and he couldn't stop his heart from sinking and a feeling of dread come over him as he saw the pompous, two-faced, no good, pink haired asswipe look over at him with a malicious sneer on his face.

"Yes Zigfried?"

"Isn't it against school rules to wear a scarf?"

There it was, the absolute highlight of his day. Joey felt his blood run cold as everyone stopped what they were doing, turning to look first at him, then Zigfried, then the teacher who had a frown on his face. It was common knowledge, the hate between Zigfried and… well everyone, but it wasn't often he'd go for an all out attack like this. The teacher turned slowly to look at Joey, clearly evaluating the black scarf wrapped around his neck before glancing back to Zigfried. It wasn't a secret that Joey had gotten into a fight, it wasn't like they were going to lie to the school, and quite a few students knew he had injuries that would scar. Only a few knew about the ones on his neck though, mainly his friends, and for some reason he couldn't put it past Zigfried to be an eavesdropping pain in the ass.

"Yes it is, but I doubt its actually effecting anyone."

"But sir, it states in segment five, chapter three, paragraph thirteen that all those wearing non-uniformed clothing will be asked to remove it, and if not they are to receive detention." The smirk grew broader on Zigfried's face. "I highly doubt you want to give Wheeler a detention, right sir?"

Joey watched as his teacher struggled with a decision. He knew what was under that scarf, he hadn't seen it but Joey knew that Miss Tollison had told the rest of his teachers why he would be wearing a scarf inside for the next few days. And he knew all hope was lost when the teacher let out a defeated sigh.

"I'm sorry Joey, but he is right. Please remove your scarf while inside."

His heart sunk, fell to the bottom of his body and died a slow, painful death. Sure, he may have told his father he'd be fine, but frankly after he'd given him the scarf he had decided he had no intention on taking it off until he got home. He'd shown Tristan and Malik his neck when they'd asked to see it the other day, and the way their faces had twisted up and their eyes widened with shock was enough to tell him that not many would be able to handle it.

So it was with a heavy sigh, closed eyes and multiple swearwords screaming to get out of his mouth, that he reached up and tugged off the scarf, allowing it to pool on the desk as gasps flew through the room.

His neck still held the signs of battle, four large scars from the back of his neck to his adams apple stood out on his otherwise flawless skin, and it was obvious they were made from fingers. Soon intense whispering was heard around the class as rumors began to spread, everyone watching with wide eyes at the way the destroyed skin stretched as Joey took one glance up at his forlorn teacher before bowing his head, refusing to let the tears in his eyes fall. This was more horrible than he'd ever imagined, and he knew he should've listened to his father. He'd tried to warn him, tell him that going to school when the wounds weren't fully healed was a stupid idea. Eventually the scars would be smaller, just thin lines, but they were huge at the moment and it was idiotic to go and make himself perfect bait for rumors. And he flinched as he heard someone whisper they were caused by "some guy who tried to shag him" not so quietly.

"Enough."

There was a new voice echoing through the room, one of authority. And as Joey looked up, recognizing who it was, he was stunned to see Seto standing up with a hard, cold glare on his face. He somehow seemed to make eye contact with everyone in the room, making them all cower slightly at the intimating atmosphere and Joey wondered just what he was doing.

"Shut up, the lot of you. None of you have a right to comment on Joey's condition. None of you know how exactly they were made, why they're there, what caused it. Nothing. So why don't you all back the hell off, and maybe show your classmate some support? Maybe even give Zigfried a few choice words for forcing Joey into this uncomfortable position." Ice blue eyes were suddenly clashing with golden brown, and Joey felt his breath hitch in his throat at the sudden contact. "Now I don't know about the rest of you, but I'd like to continue this lesson."

Joey, and the rest of the class, watched in stunned silence as the brunet sat back down and went back to his work, focusing on nothing else.

…

Angry wasn't even able to describe him now.

Joey stormed out of the building, pushing past his friends as he kept a look out for a certain mop of chestnut hair whilst he headed towards the owner of the hairs car, knowing exactly which one it was.

He swore that if he didn't like Seto that much, he would be currently hunting him down and slaughtering him. The bastard had once again managed to avoid him after his outburst in their maths class, and had somehow managed to make Joey's day both better and worse at the same time. Afterwards, people had been coming up left right and centre asking if he was okay and all that other crap while giving Zigfried a hell of a yelling, much like Seto had advised. He hadn't put his scarf back on, ignoring the whispers in the halls that were quickly silenced by his fellow students and for some reason everything had been better since then. The overshadowing weight of wondering what everyone would think when he did take off his scarf was gone and he was truly enjoying himself.

Besides the part Seto had made worse.

His urge to talk to the brunet grew even greater after their fourth class, and his anger had also grown when Seto had managed to avoid him by having an impromptu meeting with the principal about some crap or another, followed by abducting Ryou and Yugi to check over some english homework they'd received last week. Then in art he'd sat in his usual spot on the other side of the classroom silently working on their individual projects they'd been assigned the other week.

Fortunately, Seto had made the mistake of finishing his project and was forced to stay behind to have it marked, leaving Joey with enough time to race out of the class, put his stuff away and make it to Seto's car before the brunet could get away for the hundredth time.

The sound of approaching footsteps made him look up from where he was leaning against the car, having been in that position for the past thirty minutes as everyone else had left the school, including Yugi and co after he'd convinced them he'd meet up with them at the game shop later. His golden eyes narrowed though when he saw the familiar CEO walking his way, head down with his eyes locked on his sketchbook from art.

"Kaiba."

Joey felt a small bit of satisfaction run through him when the brunet jumped and glanced up in surprise, blue orbs widening at seeing the blond. Pushing off the car, Joey began to make his way over, watching as Seto closed his book and his stance became more ridged, eyes more colder.

"Wheeler."

"Don't call me that," he snarled, his hands balling into fists as he glared up at the brunet, "you called me Joey once, you can call me Joey again. Fair's fair if I call you Seto."

"You're not calling me Seto."

"Watch me."

They stayed silent after that, eyeballing each other intensely in a staring contest, waiting to see who would back down first. Joey refused to, he was not going to allow this bastard, the one that had been driving him absolutely insane, win. There was no way in hell that was going to happen!

"What do you want Joey."

The blond froze as Seto looked away and moved past him, turning to lean against the hood of his car as he waited for an answer. Joey gaped for a minute, his mouth working but no sound coming out until he jumped forward, grabbing the front of the brunets shirt.

"What do I want? Answers! I want answers! I want to know why you never came and saw me? Sure, you called and made sure I was okay, but that is nothing! You can't just kiss someone and then not turn up again! I was mulling that stupid kiss over and over for ages! I thought about what would happen when you came back, would you admit to liking me? Tell me it meant nothing? Would you just kiss me again until I basically fainted from too much of you being on me? I don't know! I was confused. And you never turned up, only called and when you called you stayed on for as long as I wanted too! You just seemed so nice yet so much of an asshole!" Joey let out a huff and glared even harder. "And today! You just ignored me, and avoided me! I was so excited, I thought I would finally see you again but then no! You just avoided me like no tomorrow! And then you go and stand up for me in maths? The fuck was that about! You can't just treat me like dirt then get mad at others who do the same! What the hell! Where the hell have you been? What are you doing! Just give me answers!"

He finally stopped, his breathing hard as he panted in Seto's face. Cold, emotionless blue eyes looked back at him and he felt himself flinch as Seto reached up and untwisted his hand from the CEO's shirt.

"I'm sorry."

Joey froze, his heart thumping madly in his chest as Seto spoke.

"I'm sorry I never visited or did anything besides call you, and I'm sorry that I avoided you today." Seto gave him a small smile, one that made Joey's heart skip a beat. "I didn't think you'd want to talk to me, but I'm gathering that you haven't heard yet."

"Heard what?" Joey asked, his voice small as he saw the way Seto's eyes darkened.

"Hirutani's in hospital, and pending going for a trail under multiple charges including assault and attempted rape," Seto muttered, his voice hoarse as he spoke. "I put him there."

If Joey hadn't managed to get a hold of himself, he knew he would have fainted right then and there. Luckily his legs only gave out on him and he toppled into Seto's waiting arms, his head lying on the brunets shoulder as he absorbed everything he just said. Hirutani? Jail? Hospital?

"You… you didn't…"

"I did. And thats why I thought you wouldn't want to talk to me." Seto sighed and Joey felt the breath flutter over the hairs on his neck. "Thats why I haven't seen you either. I've been spending the past three weeks digging up all kinds of stuff on the bastard. I'm determined to lock him away for good."

"Why is he in hospital though?"

"I put him there."

For some reason, Joey understood that Seto wasn't going to say anymore on that specific matter, and he felt slightly grateful. If Seto thought it would drive Joey away from him, he really didn't want to know. He took a deep breath before pushing away, his eyes locking with Seto's as he searched them for any sign of… well anything, and he couldn't stop the relief welling up when he saw nothing but brutal honesty shining in them. He knew he should thank Seto, be glad that he went out of his way to eliminate Hirutani because who else would he have done it for. But for some unfathomable reason, all he felt was anger. And that is what compelled him to throw a punch, straight to the other boys guts.

"You know," he started, his eyes filling up with tears as the other boy looked at him in shock, "I would've preferred him to be free, if only so that I could have seen you over these past few weeks. Seeing you would have been much better. I am thankful, so thankful, but I wanted you Seto."

The reason as to why he suddenly reached forward and hugged Seto surpassed him, but he ignored the niggling doubt in him as he buried his face into Seto's chest, biting back tears.

"You saved me Seto, you could've seen it through."

He heard the brunet take in a sharp gasp of air, and he sighed, pulling back from the hug to see the stunned blue eyes following him. He offered Seto a small smile before looking down at the ground to wait for a response. He didn't know what was going to happen, he'd pretty much just spilt everything that he felt and now it was up to Seto to choose what was going to happen. And it came as a shock to Joey when he felt long, elegant fingers brush tenderly across his scarring neck, and heard a small hum come out of Seto's mouth as he glanced up to see the other boys face.

"Its good that they're healing," Seto whispered, his eyes focused more on the torn skin than the boy staring at him with wide eyes. "I was worried they were going to be worse." He pulled away, reaching down to the ground to pick up the sketch book he'd been so deeply absorbed in before only to open it and fish out the piece of folded up canvas he'd been working on previously in class. He glanced at Joey once, seeing the confused look on the other boys face before offering a small smile and handing him the canvas.

"What is it?"

"Its another thing I've been working on this week, for you. I'm not the best artist in the world, my forte is actually music-" the one class he didn't have with Joey, "-but I thought you might like this." He didn't even give Joey enough time to speak before he leant forward and placed a gentle kiss to Joey's neck, on top of the scars and Joey gasped at the feeling, before Seto pushed away.

Joey once again didn't have time to speak, only wonder what the hell just happened as he watched Seto climb into his car and drive off.

…

"I'm just as confused as you."

"What! But you're a bloody psychologist Dad! Shouldn't you know all types of behavior?"

"But Seto is a whole new league Joey, you should know that. I can't understand the boy at all. I've met completely screwed up adults that are easier to understand than him, and they show signs of insanity."

Joey groaned as he flopped back on the couch, extremely disappointed. Jacob shook his head softly at his son before glancing at the table, smiling at the canvas draped over it. He'd been surprised when Joey had barreled into his office telling him they had to go home, they had important things to discuss and when he'd pulled out the canvas as soon as they'd stepped in the door he understood.

It was a picture, a beautifully painted picture of what Joey now considered to be his true first kiss.

Jacob sighed as he once again looked it over, the way Seto had Joey pressed against the wall, bodies flush against one another and Joey's arms were around his neck whilst Seto's were wrapped lazily around the blonds waist, their eyes were locked and some how managed to show a mixture emotions so real Jacob had to do a double take to make sure this wasn't real. Their lips were centimeters away from each other, and the air between them seemed to look disturbed as if from heavy panting, and said lips seemed to be slightly swelled up and shiny as if wet.

He felt awkward for a moment, staring at a painting of his son clearly having a good snog with another boy, but in a way it was sweet. Sweet that Seto had taken the past few weeks to perfect this masterpiece, to the extremity of being able to read the emotions and see the disturbances of the "air" around them.

But god knows why the young CEO had done it!

Father joined son with a dramatic groan as he slid down into a slouch, rubbing his hand over his face and earning the brief attention of Joey.

"I don't know Joseph, I'm sorry. I'll go make us some grub aye?"

"Yeah, thanks."

Joey watched with sad honey eyes as his father rose and left the room, offering a small smile as he walked past. Personally, Joey didn't want to even think about smiling but he forced one anyway before turning his attention back to the canvas, feeling that sense of awe come back over him. A small blush tinged his cheeks as the memory of _that _kiss washed over him, and he raised his fingers to stroke his lips once again, much like he had been for the past few weeks.

It was odd that his father couldn't even decipher why Seto had done it, and Joey certainly had no chance in hell. Much like his father, Joey found it sweet, utterly adorable in fact but for some reason he just couldn't fathom any reason behind the sudden gift.

He was just reaching out to stroke the picture, his fingers barely hovering over Seto's face when his fathers call for dinner interrupted him.

…

He prided himself on patience normally.

When he had it.

And this was not one of those times.

Joey hopped up and down on the spot, ignoring his friends as they cooed and awed over the canvas they held in their hands. He was waiting ever so unpaitently for a certain brunet to leave the school building so he could just bowl the guy over, demand answers, point out that he did _not _want that to be a one time thing before promptly snogging him into the middle of next bloody week.

Not that plans always worked.

With a frustrated huff, Joey reached out and snatched the canvas away from the others and stormed back towards the school. He was tempted to walk inside, but knowing that Seto had music last period made him avoid the front entrance and wander off around the back of the school. He was determined to hunt down this CEO, and determined to get him no matter what the cost.

So it was with a small, choking gasp that he stumbled to a stop when he realised he'd walked right to the place that Hirutani had molested and beaten him.

His eyes trailed all over, spotting every part and everything seemed to choose now to replay in his head. His hands tightened around the canvas, and his bottom lip wobbled slightly before he sunk to his knees, feeling tears tearing at the backs of his eyes, demanding an exit.

"Joey?"

The blond glanced up, fighting past the blurriness and swore he saw Hirutani storming towards him, cruel smirk on his face mixed with the wild eyes and nasty sneer. He shivered, his heart leaping into his throat madly pounding as he realised just what the ex-gang member wanted. Maybe he was back to finish pushing him against the wall and making him his "bitch", maybe he wanted to give Joey even more cruel and degrading scars than the four he already had, maybe he just wanted to fuck and kill Joey. Maybe he even killed Seto in revenge! Thats why he might be walking back from the direction of the music block!

Joey let out a small sob and fell to his knees, his head bowed in a display of submissiveness as tears coursed down his cheeks. He heard a cry and pounding footsteps but he ignored them, his eyes squeezing shut to try and block out what might just happen.

Not that he really wanted to when arms wrapped tightly around him and his eyes popped open to see a pair of concerned blue orbs.

"Joey. What's wrong? Are you okay?" Seto muttered, a frown on his face as he looked over the blond, his eyes noting everything and Joey felt himself blush. It wasn't being checked out, but being analyzed like that by a guy you have feelings for was certainly something to get excited about, even if it was only a little bit.

"I-I'm fine," Joey mumbled back, his eyes downcast as he realised how idiotic he'd been. Hirutani was locked away, Seto had said so himself, so there was no way he could hurt him. His father had said though that it was a traumatic experience so there might be the occasional flashback, or hallucination but they'd go away eventually. Without really thinking, he burrowed himself into Seto's arms and rested his head against the brunets chest in contentment. This was exactly what he'd wanted.

"Did you think I was Hirutani?"

"W-What!" Joey spluttered, his eyes wide but he refused to pull away from the safety of the chest in front of him, "How did-"

"People don't just collapse and cry Joey, something would've had to have caused it. And considering we're in the place where Hirutani attacked you, I believe that you must've thought I was him after recognizing it."

The blond pulled back and stared at him, his eyes squinting as if trying to figure something out before he shook his head, "You know, you sound a lot like my father."

"They say that women usually like men like their fathers."

"You calling me a woman?"

"No, I'm saying you like me."

For some reason, Joey's conscience tried to tell him that Seto was only attempting to distract him with words, but instantly all the rage, anger, frustration and every other emotion like them welled up inside of him and he turned a glare on Seto, so intense that it _almost _made the brunet flinch. If he hadn't been the king of ice of course.

"What?" he spat, eyes hard and face turned up into a snarl. "How fucking dare you even _try_ to claim that I like you? You! The stupid self-centered bastard that hasn't had anything to do with me for weeks on end then when you do you shove this-" he threw the piece of canvas in Seto's face and it dropped down to lie on their knees that were pressed up against one another, "-at me! You didn't even explain what it was! How the hell am I to know what the fuck is going on in your head? Not even my father, who's one of the most qualified psychologists in bloody Domino, can understand you! It's just fucking _bullshit_!"

Seto stared at him, his eyes cold and shielded before he suddenly stood up, snatching the canvas from the ground in one hand and Joey watched in horror as he positioned his hands as if to rip it.

"Maybe you should've told me that," he snapped, glaring briefly at the rising blond, "before I tried to do something nice."

Joey was stunned speechless, but he was quickly lunging forward and smacking Setos hands away when he went to destroy the picture, the beautiful picture Joey had gone to sleep looking at every night for the past week. Without skipping a beat, the blond swiped it off the ground and held it protectively to his chest as he glared at the raised eyebrow sent his way.

"No, don't destroy it. Never destroy it."

"It's not like you want it."

"Who said that!"

"You did!"

"I said I was mad, and that I can't believe you had the guts to say that I like you! I don't! So shut up!"

"If you don't like me, why have the picture?"

"Because I-" Joey cut himself off, stopping before his lips could form a word that also started with 'L' but held a lot more meaning behind it. He tore his eyes away and looked down, refusing to even spot Seto out the corner of his eye.

The brunet had other plans though, and he took one step forward, slipped one hand under Joeys chin to lift it up whilst the other grabbed onto his elbow.

"Are you scared of me, Joey?"

The blonds eyes flickered to the brunet, and he felt his whole body freeze.

"N-No!"

"Good."

A stunned second passed before Joey realised that the pressure against his lips… was Seto's own ones. His eyes widened for a brief moment before suddenly they slipped shut, his arms threw themselves around Seto's neck and his tongue was honest to god throwing itself towards Seto's own, desperate to storm past the others lips and wriggle into it's home. He heard Seto's small gasp at Joey's sudden boldness, but that was quickly gone when he pulled Joey's head back by using a hand on the back of the blonds head and he began to ravish the blonds lips and mouth, determined to win the battle of dominance Joey seemed to be forcing upon them. Their hands tightened into fists, Setos in Joey's hair and lower back while Joey's gripped Seto's shoulders as hard as possible, whether to pull himself closer or make sure he didn't fall over backwards, he didn't know. What he did know was that he _wanted _this. Every god damn day he wanted this.

They pulled apart after a while, breathing heavily in loud pants, both feeling slightly dazed, their lips swollen and extremely wet, their eyes slightly glazed over with passion.

"Seto…" the blond breathed the others name, it coming out rough and hoarse and he swore he saw Seto shiver. A smile appeared on his bruised lips and suddenly the blond was lunging forward, arms wrapping around the brunets neck as he hugged him tightly, burying his head in Seto's chest.

"I'm sorry Joey. I… I lied to you." Joey wanted to pull back and look up, surprise on his face, but Seto stopped him. "Putting Hirutani away wasn't the only reason I didn't… couldn't face you. I couldn't deal with myself." Seto's voice was suddenly in his ear, and Joey knew that he wouldn't stop the brunet even if he wanted. "I managed to convince myself that I was just going to treat you how I treat Mokuba when he's hurt… but then I just kissed you and everything… "blew up in my face" I guess you could say. I don't deal with emotions very easily, I was raised by Gozaburo to think they were a weakness, and dealing with these new ones for you was just something I couldn't do." The chest Joey was pressed against moved up and down as Seto sighed, arms tightening around Joey. "I painted that picture in an attempt to get them out there. The other day I was finally going to tell you but… I just chickened out I guess. I hoped you'd understand if I gave you the painting but I guess you didn't. I guess you need me to say it."

Joey was stunned as Seto pulled him back, staring into his eyes with the warmest pair of blue orbs Joey'd ever seen.

"I… really like you Joey. Not love, it's not there yet, but I do really, _truly_ like you. And… I really would like for you to go on a date with me."

There was silence.

"You bloody idiot."

It was Seto's turn to be stunned as he watched the previously upset blond, close to having a mental breakdown, suddenly burst out laughing and grin at him. Who knew this guy was so bloody bi-polar? Absolute nutcase. Although, Seto had to admit he was unbelievably adorable, and a small smile was tugging at the corners of his lips.

"Are you sure Seto?" Joey finally asked, his face taking one of seriousness as he regarded the brunet. "I come with baggage, a lot of it. And I'm still recovering. Not to mention I'm… not exactly good-looking anymore. Not with these scars and-"

He was cut off and Seto suddenly lent forward, his mouth once again grazing over the four scars on Joey's neck as he kissed each one of them before pulling back, a smile on his face.

"You're perfect just the way you are."

Joey felt himself blushing, completely embarrassed as he refused to meet the intense blue eyes in front of him, choosing instead to punch the guy lightly on the arm and mumble, "Corny Bastard."

Seto's laugh echoed throughout the empty school grounds, and Joey glanced up in surprise at the genuinely amazing sound. A smile came onto his face as he watched the brunet grin at him, holding out a hand for Joey to take.

"I think your dad was right," he chuckled as Joey accepted the hand and they began to walk towards Seto's car, "I really am smitten with you."

* * *

**Felt slightly lame with that ending. Never done a sequel before and halfway through I was all "WAIT! THERE WAS AN ACTUAL STORY TO THIS? OMGWTFQWERTY!" but yeah! Hope I did okay!**

**Thank you so much for reading :D**


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